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U.S.:Existing-home sales climb 7% in April
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Existing-home sales climb 7% in April

WASHINGTON, May 29, 2002 -- Existing-home sales rose 7.0% in April to 5.79 million units from a level of 5.41 million units in March, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Last month's sales activity was 9.5% above the 5.29-million unit pace in April 2001, and was the third highest pace on record.

January and February of this year, with annual existing-home sales rates of 6.05 million and 5.89 million units respectively, experienced the highest levels of sales activity since record keeping began in 1968.

David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said the market pattern is continuing. "It all comes down to the strong housing market fundamentals, which won't be changing anytime in the foreseeable future," he said. "Low interest rates, strong demand, high consumer confidence and an improving economy are setting the stage for another record year in existing home sales." NAR projects 5.38 million existing-home sales this year, up 1.5% from last year's record.

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.99% in April, down slightly from 7.01% in March; it was 7.08% in April 2001.

NAR President Martin Edwards Jr. said, "The report provides even more evidence that housing is playing a critical role in the economic recovery. Home prices are continuing to rise, but so are the number of homes on the market. It's been a sellers' market in most of the country, but the good news for buyers is that the inventory situation has improved over the last two months. That should help to create a better balance between buyers and sellers and reduce some of the pressure on home prices as the level of sales activity begins to settle from this peak activity." Edwards is a partner in Colliers Wilkinson & Snowden Inc., Memphis, Tenn.

The national median existing-home price was $153,300 in April, up 7.1% from April 2001 when the median price was $143,100. The median is the midpoint, which is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

Housing inventory levels at the end of April rose 11.0% from March to a total of 2.33 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 4.8-month supply at the current sales pace.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 11.1% from March to a pace of 700,000 units in April, and were 9.4% higher than April 2001. The median existing-home price in the Northeast was $156,400, up 11.0% from a year ago.

Home resale activity in the South increased 9.5% in April to an annual rate of 2.30 million units, and was 8.0% above April 2001. The median price of an existing home in the South was $142,100, which was 4.7% higher than April 2001.

The existing-home sales pace in the West rose 4.0% from March to an annual rate of 1.55 million units in April, and was up 13.1% from April 2000. The median existing-home price in the West was $213,300, up 12.4% from the same month a year earlier.

In the Midwest, homes were reselling at an annual rate of 1.24 million units in April, 3.3% higher than March and 7.8% above April 2001. The median price in the Midwest was $129,900, up 6.4% from a year ago.